Bill would let retired R.I. nurses return to work – and still collect pensions

By Katherine Gregg | | Journal State House Bureau

Wednesday

May 18, 2011 at 12:01 AM

PROVIDENCE, R.I. — A move is afoot at the State House to allow more than one group of retirees to return to the state payroll — and in the latest case, to earn up to $24,000 a year — without giving up their pensions.

PROVIDENCE, R.I. - A move is afoot at the State House to allowmore than one group of retirees to return to the state payroll -and in the latest case, to earn up to $24,000 a year - withoutgiving up their pensions.

Attention focused earlier this year on the drive by stateeducation officials to bring up to 50 retired public-schoolteachers and administrators back to work as $500-a-day consultants,for up to 90 days a year, without any diminution in theirretirement benefits. That proposal is up for its first legislativevote by the Senate Labor Committee on Wednesday.

On Tuesday, the House and Senate Finance committees heldhearings on bills to put even more state pensioners back to work ata time when unemployment in Rhode Island is still hovering near 11percent.

These bills would allow retired nurses to to work at astate-operated facility in Rhode Island, or join the faculty of anursing program at a state-operated college and earn up to $24,000annually without forfeiting their state pensions.

The average state pension is $25,887 annually, according to thestate actuaries, so the bills at issue would not only fill gaps inthe state's nursing and teaching ranks with retirees, but alsoprovide a substantial increase in post-retirement income for thosewho land these state-paid gigs.

State law already allows nurses to return to work in a statehospital and earn up to $12,000.

Among those who turned out for Tuesday's hearings was KevinWilks, 55, who retired in 2008 from Zambarano Hospital where he wasin charge of staff education. He left with a $49,383-a-yearpension, according to the state retirement office, and now teachesone 3-to-11 p.m. course a week, on nursing fundamentals, at RhodeIsland College for a fee of $7,500 per semester, or $15,000 ayear.

With minimum requirements that include being a registered nursewith a master's degree, Wilks said: "You are limited in who canactually fill those positions." Asked how many other retirees areteaching at RIC, he said: "In the nursing program, I believe I maybe the only one."

In an interview, Wilks said he isn't looking to teach any moreclasses, but the current $12,000-cap forces him to return a portionof what he makes teaching in both the fall and springsemesters.

But the bill has wider implications.

Craig Stenning, the executive director of the agency thatoversees the state hospital system, said 14 retirees were broughtback to work this year - for three days a month on average - toreplace nurses who were out for one reason or another. He said 3 ofthe 14, who worked more often, have already hit the $12,000maximum.

Stenning said the retirees are brought back at $40 an hour for amaximum of 300 hours, which is something of a bargain to hisdepartment which pays an average of $50 an hour, $75,586.09 a yearto its full-time nurses, plus $30,194 in benefits.

He said his department is not pushing the legislation, butvalues the opportunity to call back skilled professionals, whoalready know their way around the hospital - and many of thepatients.

Similarly, the House sponsor, Rep. Raymond Gallison, D-Bristol,said he was prompted to introduce the bill, in part, byconversations he has had with retired Veterans Home staff he runsinto at church and the supermarket, who have told him howdisruptive it is for patients - and expensive it is for thestate-run nursing home in Bristol - to have a changing cast ofnurses from employment agencies brought in to fill staffingholes.

Gallison said he personally opposes the hiring of retirees asconsultants because it "impedes upward mobility" for currentstaffers, but he views his bill in a different light.

"We have a nursing shortage, right now. Nurses are in highdemand … [and they] can command better salaries in hospitalsettings," he said.

Both Linda McDonald, president of the United Nurses & AlliedProfessionals, and retired nurse Cindy Lussier told the lawmakersthat the current income cap for retirees often forces the statehospital to pay a premium to hire temporary replacements fromout-of-state agencies, who spend 16 hours of paid time gettingoriented, and then working a "buddy shift," before they work ashift. Some are never seen again.

Lussier, with a $54,504-a-year pension, is one of the retireeswho returned to work in the state hospital system this year, alongwith pensioners Maureen Doyon with a $28,067 pension; CharlesEdwards Jr., $56,337; Sandra Fay-Petrarca, $62,441; Alice Goslin,$18,814; Rosalie Hoxsie (opted for a refund of her contributions);Jeanne Loxley, $23,356; Linda Masse, $65,653; Diane Mongeau,$70,703; Marie Mulcahy, $39,012; Martha Perez, $56,886; DenisePlante, $62,131; Carl Simmons, $54,381; and Carol Voccio,$61,011.

Other pending bills would allow a retired Family Courtmagistrate to return to work without forfeiting his pension,municipal retirees to return for up to 90 days a year, and a54-year old Central Falls schoolteacher to get a bigger pension bybuying credit for time worked at the private Sawyer School inPawtucket.

kgregg@projo.com

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